Tag: David Thorpe

Death of Mr. Dodsley

Death of Mr. Dodsley

by John Ferguson (The Crime Club, 1937)

audiobook read by David Thorpe (Soundings, 2023)

Book cover: “Death of Mr. Dodsley” by John Ferguson (The Crime Club, 1937); audiobook read by David Thorpe (Soundings, 2023)

Ferguson affords the reader meticulous access to the discoveries, theories and reasonings of both MacNab and the police, yet still manages to spring a surprise of two (albeit in part due to glassy-eyed oversaturation). The prose is pleasant enough, its deployment underwhelming.

Seven Dead

Seven Dead

by J. Jefferson Farjeon (Collins, 1939)

audiobook read by David Thorpe (Soundings, 2020)

Book cover: “Seven Dead” by J. Jefferson Farjeon (Collins, 1939); audiobook read by David Thorpe (Soundings, 2020)

A Golden Age mystery with vim. The scenario is striking but the biggest drawcard is Detective Inspector Kendall (straight-talking, sarcastic, almost manically bonhomous), who even when absent for a long stretch mid-book is ably deputised by a good-natured and loquacious civilian offsider.

Thirteen Guests

Thirteen Guests

by J. Jefferson Farjeon (Collins, 1936)

audiobook read by David Thorpe (Soundings, 2020)

Book cover: “Thirteen Guests” by J. Jefferson Farjeon (Collins, 1936); audiobook read by David Thorpe (Soundings, 2020)

A relatively simple murder mystery obfuscated through excessive characterisation of players who are dropped without a second thought. Short and accessible but holds back its detective (the energetic, straight-shooting Inspector Kendall) until the race is more than half run. Perfunctory twist ending.

The Bedlam Stacks

The Bedlam Stacks

by Natasha Pulley (Bloomsbury, 2017); audiobook read by David Thorpe (Bolinda, 2018)

Pulley_Bedlam Stacks

Pulley’s second novel harks back thematically to her first: two nineteenth-century men from different cultures forge an unlikely friendship against a convincing backdrop of historical detail and subtly revealed magic realism. Slow-moving yet engaging, albeit with Keita Mori rather arbitrarily thrown in.

 

 

Derelict Space Sheep